The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-06-22
A Romance i'm Real Life.

1hclC dlC llNluS nOW III ullO CluY VI
Knoxville, Tenn, welded couple
who have for many years lived most
happily together and have reared an
interesting family, the eldest son being
now young man nearly grown. The
story of the first meeting of this worthy
couple, nearly thirty years ago, and
their subsequent marriage, has in it
more of romance than many creation
of the imagination, and is so full of
interest that we cannot resist the temp
tation to give it to our readers, al
though we have been requested by the
gentleman not to do so.
In the winter of 1S59-60 Lake Cham
plain was frozen solidly almost the en-
tire winter, and the young people in
reach of its shores enjoyed the health
full and exciting pleasure of skating to
the fullest extent. Along toward
spring thaw came and the surface of
the ice was somewhat softened by the
warm rays of the sun. This was fol-
lowed by long, hard rain, which COW
cred the frozen surface of the lake
with clear, pure water. All hope of
any more skating on the lake that win
ter had gone, when suddenly the
weather changed again, the skies
cleared and in one cold, still night the
water standing on the ice was frozen
as hard as adamant, and the surface of
the ice which before was somewhat
rough and uneven was then perfectly
smooth, aud again the skaters were
skimming over the level surface of the
ice-covered lake.
For several days the cold weather
continued and one evening, the last on
which the steel runners of the skates
were heard ringing on the ice of Lake
Champlain that winter, two young
men, just turned into the twenties-one
a native of New York, who was on the
Vermont side in the employ of the
Champlain Navigation Company, and
the other Vermont boy, whose home
was near-went out on Shelburne Point
with their skates, and were soon gliding
swiftly about on Shelburne Bay. Near
ing the end of the Point where it was
low and narrow, they could see on the
other side, skating on the main body of
the lake, four young ladies, with three
of whom they were acquainted. TAX
ing off their skates, the young men ran
across the Point and joined the girls,
and soon the merry laughter of the
young people was ringing over the
frozen lake as they merrily skinned
along the smooth surface of the ice.
The young lady unknown to the boys
was beautiful East Tennessee girl,
visiting two of her schoolmates in Yer
mont.
In the distance, toward the north,
Rock Dunder could be seen, a black
column rising up from the glistening
ice-mantle of the lake; and after sew
raj minutes of skating near the point
one of the young ladies proposed that
they all take race out to the rock. The
other girls seconded the suggestion,
and in trice they were all skimming
away toward the rock. When this was
reached, still further away could be
seen Juniper Island, which was Just
three miles from Shelburne Point, the
place from which the party started.
The merry young people soon concluded
to go on the island, and in few min
utes they were all gliding slowly around
the shores of the island, when the
young New Yorker stopped suddenly
with quick, sharp cry, and pointed to
dense, dark fog rolling swiftly down
from the north. They all knew what
that meant for any one caught out on
the ice in the fog, and, turning quickly,
they dashed away in desperate race
with the darkness that was rushing
down upon them. But before they got
fairly away from the island the adj
vance mists of the fog were gathering
about them, and they knew that they
could not reach Shelburne Point before
they should be wrapped in almost i'm
penetrable darkness. Stopping for
minute, the plan of action was deter
mined. The New York boy was to lead
with one of the ladies', following as
closely as possible the marks made by
the skates as the party went out. One
of the Vermont ladies, the older one,
was to follow him, and the young Yer
monter was to assist the other two girls,
who could not skate so well. Just as
the blackness of the fog swept down
upon them they started again in the ar
ranged order. Almost in an instant
the light of the sun had been shut out
and all the frozen lake was wrapped in
shroud of darkness. The young peo-
pie spoke not word; nothing could be
seen and the fearful silence was broken
only by the ring of the flying skates on
the ice. The young man who had
charge of the two girls assisted them
all that he could and closely followed
the young lady in front of him. No
one knew how time passed nor how
long they went without speaking, nor
how far. But finally, believing that
they had gone more than twice the
distance from the island to the point,
the young man behind called to the
lady he followed and asked her if she
could see the land. She answered that
she could not, and then the young man
told her to call to the leader and stop
him for a second consultation. The
girl answered that she had entirely lost
sight of the leader, and did not know
whether or not they were following
him, but had all the time thought they
were. Greatly alarmed, the young man
advanced; examining the ice, he found
it perfectly smooth, with no marks of
steel upon it. He then, still with the
two girls held by their belts before him e,
took the lead, instructing the young